Hope, Change, and Profit

From CQ Politics:

The hours are long, the work is sporadic, and chances of failure lurk eveywhere, but politics is still a place where hot-shot operatives can pull down a six-figure salary, a CQ MoneyLine analysis has found.

The analysis of expenditure reports showed that at least 216 campaign and political action committee staffers made more than $100,000 each in the 2008 election cycle.

The largest reported paycheck, nearly $300,000, went to Eli Pariser, former executive director of MoveOn.org Jay Banning, the former chief financial officer for the Republican National Committee, was second, taking in $291,780. Karrie Harris Cohen was a close third. She was paid $288,094 for running the Every Republican Is Crucial political action committee tied to House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia.